Moving Abroad

PoorCharleyBear

Also you might find the britishexpatsdotcom website useful...has a spefic middle east section for newcomers with lifers there to guide them!

turn3r

We lived in Dubai for 18 months a couple years back.
You need copies of all your documents and these had to be attested so check if this needs doing and do in UK before hand.
Make sure you have adequate health care.
Re mail, we had everything redirected to my mum and she dealt with it all.
Please please please make sure you don't see lovely shiny cars etc and fall into the finance traps. I had so many friends who got into very big trouble when they couldn't pay.
Dubai is very less strict than other Middle East countries, although some malls have started policing what people wear.
You need a liquor license to drink in Dubai when you become a resident, you apply for them in the liquor store, this limits how much alcohol you can buy each month inside the shop but pubs etc are on top. If you don't get one of these you cannot purchase alcohol in shops.
If you google expat woman Dubai, there is a useful website with forum and the women on the whole tend to be helpful.
Best of luck and enjoy x

AgathaPoirot

When we moved abroad we took a couple of comedy DVDs to play on the laptop. It was quite nice after long days out getting to know the new place, trying to be understood in a new language and getting to grips with the whole moving abroad, leaving family behind etc just to come back on an evening and listen/watch a piece of 'home'.

BabyBoots

Bear in mind that your shipping will be searched. if unacceptable items are found, they may use it as an excuse to commandeer *all* your shipped items, not just the offending ones.

Examples of unacceptable items being:

• books/DVDs with lewd content or violence (if in doubt, leave behind)
• sex related items
• various medicines - e,g, anything containing codeine, perhaps migraine medicine, some asthma medication

Your permission to reside there will be based on his job providing you both with papers - if he quits, you may not be eligible to remain.

Princess_Jane

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

The wedding is now all booked and sorted, so that's one massive task out of the way.

I'm now working with a pal to build a website for me, to make freelancing work easier to find.

Interesting info re the 'liquor licence'.

British bank account has to stay, as I have a lease car I can't get rid of. It's going to live in my parents' garage - which is the address it's registered to.

The heat is the main thing I'm worried about. I'm very fair and burn on a warm day in the UK. I'm also allergic to insect bites and most sun tan lotions give me horrible heat rash. Going to invest in a parasol the size of a bin lid and fashion a dress out of mosquito nets.

BigAunty

Will you pay tax to Dubai or the UK?

Remember that you have to pay 35 years worth of NI contributions in order to qualify for a state pension in the UK and you can arrange to continue to pay your NI while overseas for £x per month. So do keep up your NI contributions. See the Direct Gov website for info onthis.

Also, it may be worth you browsing the 'habitual residence' rules for the UK benefit system in case of redundancy, relationship breakdown, sickness/disability or so on. On the benefits forum, we see people returning from overseas due to some kind of crisis and they can be blocked from the simplest of assistance from the welfare system due to HR rules and because they've broken all ties with the UK for awhile and their hardship continues.

Princess_Jane

I'll be earning tax-free in Dubai. No UK tax.

I haven't been working for 35 years (just feels like it). I'm trying to sort out NI contributions and inform HMRC about our move, but every phone call seems to involve 20 minutes on hold so someone can be rude and ill-informed to me for 30 secs.

Callhandler today took three goes to read out a website address.

Any guidance welcome.

Princess_Jane

A quick update - we are now happily married (one week today and counting) and living in Dubai.

Thanks for all your advice and help.